0 Comments Have you contributed to the "If I were 22" conversation that is making the rounds online, yet?

I thought I'd give it some pause for thought. Wistful thinking is a vacuous and mostly pointless waste of time and emotional energy. Any conversation that begins with the words "if only.." predicates a regression to our 4 year old identity. As adults we should be intuitive enough and world wise, to realise that 'if only" is the language of the martyr.

Reflecting on an imaginary trip back in time to whisper some words of hindsight experience however does serve the purpose of engaging our sense of purpose. We often remark to each other and ourselves, that you only realise what you had, when it's gone. That which we truly value can seem elusive to grasp until we apply focus, and nothing concentrates focus better than an attempt to answer a question.

If you are between 23 and 93, apologies for the arbitrary cut off age, you can play this game!

My first thoughts revolved around warning my younger self to avoid some of the many mistakes I've made. In retrospect however, it occurs to me that the greatest of life lessons were absorbed only after the obligatory face plant or two! It would seem smarter to focus on the pursuit of attributes and philosophy that best equips our junior selves to become self resilient and capable of dealing the the myriad of challenges, disappointments, and requisite failures that any great accomplishment needs to endure.

Here are a few thoughts I'd like to impart to a much younger ME!

Dream Bigger, because no failure will ever hinge on you being too ambitious. Be more decisive, and assume that there are no right or wrong steps on the long journey to your success. An inability to take a step is the slow cancer that erodes aspiration. A seemingly wrong step nonetheless represents motion, and motion can easily be steered incrementally in the direction of our dreams. Believe with every last ounce of energy that no one on the planet, class, royalty, age or authority, is better than you. Believing that you are anything other than awesome is a sad delusion. There is nothing more powerful than self esteem - good or bad. There is a corollary to this of course. We may be repulsed, disgusted, antagonised, at odds with or fearful of a great many people but we need to acknowledge our humanity and understand that we are equally, superior to no one.

There are no doubt a multitude of other thoughts, including understanding that all truth is merely a trick of perspective, or that engagement is so much more rewarding than isolation, life balance is a precursor to joy and happiness, humour is under rated, and absenting ourselves from the negative energy of those who question our beliefs and vision, is far more productive than confrontation. The list seems endless